Why MYSTERIES? Because that is the genre I read. Why PARADISE? Because that is where I live.
Among other things, this blog, the result of a 2008 New Year's resolution, will act as a record of books that I've read, and random thoughts.

What I had in mind is that these are authors that I will read even if occasionally a title doesn't hit the dizzy heights of excellence. They nearly always have something to offer, and I expect to enjoy them.

This year Ian has been inducted into the newly created ITV3 Crime Awards Hall of Fame.Here are just some of his other awards:

Dagger Awards Best Novel winner (1997) : Black and Blue

Edgar Awards Best Novel nominee (1998) : Black and Blue

Edgar Awards Best Novel winner (2004) : Resurrection Men

BCA Crime Thriller of the Year Best Novel winner (2007) : The Naming Of The Dead

BCA Crime Thriller of the Year Best Novel nominee (2008) : Exit Music

Most crime fiction readers will know of Ian Rankin as the creator of John Rebus. Over a period of 20 years, from 1987-2007, Rankin published 17 Rebus novels, all set in his native Edinburgh.When Rankin retired Rebus in EXIT MUSIC in 2007 (my rating 5.0), many wondered what Rankin would do next.

First came DOORS OPEN, a stand alone that I rated at 4.6.Then a new protagonist, Malcolm Fox, appeared in THE COMPLAINTS. My rating 4.7.

As you can see from this listing in my database

THE FLOOD (1986) 4.7

THE WATCHMAN (1988) 4.6

THE NAMING OF THE DEAD (2006) 4.8

my ratings have always been in the range of 4.5 to 5.

My general benchmarks are

5.0 Excellent4.0 Very Good3.0 Average2.0 Poor1.0 Did Not Like0 Did Not Finish

So, for me, Rankin's new offerings are still reliably high in my ratings.One of the things that holds him there, in my view, is that he is not just a crime fiction writer, but nearly always a social, and even political, commentator. He and the other 5 writers I have already listed have much in common. They place their novels in contemporary situations, where events happening at the time, issues the community is concerned about, provide a context for the mystery that is central to the novel.

2 comments:

Kerrie - I'm glad you mentioned Rankin as a social commentator; I like that very much about his work, too. It's not easy to blend a compelling mystery with that sense of awareness of the social issues, but Rankin does it.